“Two, huh? That’s a good age to be.”
“Arella,” Kristy said suddenly. “Why don’t you go to the kitchen to see if Aunt Julia has that hot chocolate ready?”
At the promise of hot chocolate, Arella immediately abandoned her ideas of princes and princesses and took off for the kitchens. “Thank you for helping with the tree,” Kristy said tensely.
“I didn’t know you had a daughter. It must be a lot of work to raise a child and run a farm, Kristy.”
“What’s your point?” she snapped. Her tone was harsher than she’d intended, but she didn’t want his pity. She got enough of that from the townspeople. Poor Kristy. Single mother and owner of a dying business. She didn’t want it from them, and she certainly didn’t need it from him.
Looking around the lodge, “This place used to be filled to capacity, especially near the Iditarod. Clearly, business hasn’t been good and it’s obvious you have a lot on your plate. Why don’t you let me help? I would be happy to give you some money.”
What? Her blood ran cold as she stared at him. “You want to help by throwing money at me? To what end? I’ll be so grateful that I’ll fall back into bed with you? Must be nice to have so much money and power that you can simply hand someone a check and make everything go away.”
“Wait. What? Kristy, I’m only trying to help. I…”
“Save it, Kashif, I’m not for sale. You are here for the Iditarod and once it’s over, you’ll leave again and we’ll still be here.”
“You hate me.” It wasn’t a question, and she didn’t bother replying. She tried to walk past him, but he reached out to grab her arm. “I don’t want you to hate me, Kristy.”
She clenched her jaw. “After what you did, I don’t really care what you want.”
“After what I did?” he challenged her. “You were the one who shut me out. I know I left abruptly, but you were told why. You knew that I didn’t have a choice, and yet every time that I reached out to you, you refused to speak to me.”
Unable to help herself, she laughed. “Really? Now you have the audacity to lie to me? I know exactly why you left, Kashif. I believe your man’s exact words were, ‘he takes a few weeks and pretends to be someone new. He enjoys a woman, and when he tires of them, he leaves,’” she said as she tried to mimic the man’s deep voice. “Then he tried to make me feel better about myself by commenting on my talents in bed since I’d made you stick around for so long.”
“Kristy, no!” Kashif gasped.
She frowned. “I was there, Kashif. You weren’t. You were long gone. And still that wasn’t enough to convince me that I was an idiot. It took twenty unanswered letters, and a plane ride where I was rejected at the airport and paid to leave before I realized just what kind of man you were. Looking back now, I can’t even believe how I’d humiliated myself over you.”
“Kristy, I left because my father was ill. Melka was supposed to instruct you that I’d contact you when I was able, but I never heard from you. You didn’t return my phone calls. I must have left fifty messages with your father. I never got any letters from you, and I certainly didn’t know you’d tried to visit. I made reservations a few months after I left and came back, but you weren’t here. Your father said that you’d moved in with another man, that you were in love, and I needed to leave it alone.”
Kristy stared at him. Either he was lying, or they had both been played. The problem was, she wasn’t all that inclined to trust him. She’d been far too hurt by the rebukes, she was not prepared to put her heart out there again. Possibly not ever. Heartbreak was hard enough; she wouldn’t survive if he took her daughter away.
He’d yet to deny his bodyguard’s claim of the other women. There was no way she could be with a man who thought it was okay to lead women on like that. And there was no way she wanted her daughter associating with someone like that; father or not.
“It really doesn’t matter what happened,” she said finally. “It was only a fling, and now it’s over. I appreciate you wanting to help, but like I said, the farm is doing fine, I don’t want your money.”
“It was more than a fling, and you know it,” he said darkly. “And if things are fine, why am I the only guest here?”
Before she had to answer, Julia came around the corner. “Kristy, darling? Sue had to take off. Apparently there was an emergency with her father in Rhode Island, and she’ll be gone for a few weeks. I’ve got lunch ready. I thought I’d fill in until she got back.”
Kristy’s stomach rumbled, and she remembered that she hadn’t eaten yet. “Thanks, Aunt Julia. I’m starving. I’m sure Sheikh Kashif will take his in his room. After lunch, can you see that Henry shows him the dogs? I need to finish decorating.” Whirling around, she stared. “Unless you were never interested in the race.”
“I’m staying,” he said firmly. “And I’ll eat in the kitchen.”
“That’s just as well. I need to check on the horses, so I’ll take mine to go.”
She watched him walk away and felt her emotions war inside her. Part of her wanted desperately to believe him, and that part immediately began to hope for a happily ever after ending. She’d tell him the truth, tell him that Arella was his daughter, and they’d move forward with their lives. He’d get to know his daughter, and maybe they would even give it another go. They’d be a family.
But the other part of her could see the reality of the situation. Kashif would be the Crowned Sheikh of his country. He couldn’t stay with them, and he would have certain responsibilities and duties. His family would never let them be together, and her original fears could come to life. The Shadid family would take Arella away from her. They had the kind of sway that could easily shut Kristy out. She’d never see her daughter.
Feeling the tightening in her stomach, she swallowed hard. Most unwed mothers feared their baby daddies wouldn’t want to claim their kids, but Kristy knew that Kashif wasn’t like that. He’d want a relationship with his daughter, and his family would make sure that he’d have one.
“God,” she whispered as she closed her eyes. After everything that he’d just told her, she felt so guilty about keeping his daughter from him. He’d be a great father, and she wante
d so desperately to have everything work out.
But, if it didn’t, she’d lose Arella and that was one risk she wasn’t willing to take.